We knew that the decision by the NHL that Zdeno Chara’s March 8 hit on Max Pacioretty was a “hockey play” gone wrong didn’t defuse the Montreal forward’s bitterness toward the Bruins defenseman or the league.

Obviously an apologetic phone call and the passing of time haven’t quelled Pacioretty’s disgust in the months since the hit either.

The 22-year-old Pacioretty said he was still frustrated that Chara wasn’t suspended for the hit, adding he hopes the NHL will adopt a more consistent policy of policing head shots. He said he turned the TV off after the end of Game 7 in the Stanley Cup final because he didn’t want to see Chara accept the trophy.

At the risk of opening this can of worms again, Chara’s hit on Pacioretty was not a head shot. Pacioretty’s head unfortunately hit the stanchion when he was hit with immense force by the biggest player in the NHL. It was a late hit, penalized by interference. But to compare the hit to the one Aaron Rome threw at Nathan Horton or Mike Richards through at David Booth is mixing apples and oranges.

Nonetheless, I can understand not watching the Cup presentation based on the fact that no player wants to watch another team win. But to still be angry with Chara after the Bruins captain made contact with him via phone to apologize and wish him shows that Pacioretty really needs to turn the page.

As for the injuries he suffered as a result of the hit, Pacioretty is basically 100 percent healthy now. He told Hickey:

“My injury hasn’t limited me in the weight room and I started training earlier than I normally do because of the rehab. If I had come back in the playoffs, the injury might have been in the back of my mind, but now with the time off, it won’t be a problem. I know the kind of game I have to play. I want to be that guy who goes to the net to score goals.”

Thanks Dr. Neely. Your clinical research is mind blowing. To clear up the confusion about his injury, look up any associated press clipping about his injury being a fracture (Sporting news, USAToday, ESPN, the freaking Herald..) Blogs are great, but “some blog” doesn’t really cut it.

His injury was a fractured 4th cervical vertebra.
Feel free to look up what a fracture is, or where the 4th cervical vertebra is. Hell, you can go to medical school if you like.

@Ribzzy – you’re an objective guy.

@David – Your tone changed incredibly. Now you’re happy that he’s recovered and yet 12 hours earlier…
“Can’t wait for when he tries to hit or fight Chara and gets crushed again!” So you think Cooke has blood lust? What the hell do you call that?

@George – You’re right to question Neely. His brilliant logic is that someone either has a fracture OR an injury. It never occurred to this guy that a fracture IS an injury. Furthermore, of course local Boston media will refer to the injury in vague terms. It takes away the severity of the issue and can easily equate to lesser injuries.

@George
Dont remember and can’t find the specific article for you but it was either bigbadblog, this blog, or CSN (all Boston media) where the injury was referred to as an “injured vertebrae”. Regardless, a broken neck does not heal on it’s own without traction in 3 months. That’s just science.

Canadiens fans:
It was an unfortunate accident that was outside the rules. Having watched Chara day in and day out, he doesn’t go out to play and hurt people nor does he try and make big hits: in fact that’s something I’ve only seen him do once or twice in Boston. He has no bloodlust (unlike Matt Cooke). I know you all hate Chara because he’s the best player on the team you hate, but I doubt he wanted to hurt Patches.

Patches really has to learn how to take advantage of his exposure, rather than making himself into a flash point. Glad to hear he’s recovered, but we should just let it go.

Remember Canadien’s fans, we had one of the all-time greatest suck-jobs done to us when Cooke was let off the hook without any discipline after his hit on Savard. We know what it’s like for that to happen, and I honestly think either a fine or a 1 gm suspension would have been right, given how late the play was.

As an aisde, it’s a rare day when JPT makes some constructive comments, and I agree that Shawn’s needed to be deleted, as they were certainly detrimental to a constructive conversation and civility. Thanks again for running a great blog!

RD, just get it all off your chest. It’s O.K. if you need to complain, we’re in a generous mood. We did just have a million people in downtown to celebrate the cup after all.

People really need to stop saying Chara broke pax neck. That is just silly. I know initially they reported a nondisplaced vertebrae fracture, but now it’s being called a vertebrae injury. If he really had a fractured C4 he would be in halo traction right now.

People need to remember Mike Murphy ruled on all Bruins-related controversies, not Colin Campbell. You didn’t see the Panthers getting favorable treatment the last few years.

Give credit where credit is due. The Bruins are a team that plays on the edge, and grinds out their victories. This approach has brought them success. Fans of other teams may despise the attitude and aggressiveness the B’s exhibit, but I guarantee you it’s part frustration and part envy. It’s the same sort of hatred that I feel for Brian Gionta because he’s a game-changing player, or for Mike Cammalleri because he’s got an infinitely twister wrister that I wish were on MY team.

Patch’s comments are water under the bridge. I don’t blame him for turning the TV off- he’s so competitive, I bet he believes he could’ve been a game-changer in that first round. And you know what, I think he may be right. That being said, I could really care less what he thinks- what’s done is done.

JPT- As much as I dislike your approach sometimes, you deserve to have a voice just as much as any of us. I just wish we could all be more objective sometimes. I didn’t read the homophobic crap that was apparently put on here, but that sort of thing is uncalled for.

I’m looking forward to seeing Timmy win his second Vezina tomorrow, and seeing the Bruins draft a future blueline stud on Friday. God, I love hockey.

James, spoken like a true Bruins fan. Don’t like something? PUNCH IT!!!
Chara is probably the heavyweight champ of the league and Pacioretty is 50 lbs lighter and has already suffered a bad concussion. What would be the dumbest thing he could do? Oh I know, eat some punches from Chara.
The best thing Max could do is have a good career and put the puck in Boston’s net as often as he can. Afterall, at the end of the day, it’s that cup you guys are enjoying that matters right? Not who’s laying motionless on the ice.
So James, I’m trying to assess if you just have anger issues or are a complete pile of human waste. Do you mean you can’t wait for Pacioretty to lose a fight, or end up concussed with a broken neck again? Crushed makes it sound like the latter which makes you sound like you need to crawl back under the rock you came out from.

U Hab fans are something else. Criminal? Attorney general? Investigation? You do realize that all that nonsense is not seriously being pursued and it’s politically motivated grand standing right? I mean you wouldn’t be so delusional to think Chara will be arrested would you? If anyone deserves blame it’s the owners/operators of the rink, the stanchion was barely padded and met MINIMAL standards set by the league. The boards are notoriously stiff, and had that stanchion been properly padded this whole situation would never have evolved.

Matt’s probably pumping out another 12 articles right now JPT so he’s too busy to worry about stuff like that.

I say let the angry people make racist comments. Erasing the comments covers up what many people suspect about some Bruins fans anyway.

Shawn, that wasn’t even creative. You need to up the ante. Try to be a little more expressive of how French people you’ve never met make you feel.

Karl, we don’t agree on anything really but that post was beneath you. Max had a neck fractured by another player at 21 years old. If he doesn’t want to forgive Chara, that’s his business. If I fractured your neck for instance, you’d probably 9 iron me in the back of the head the first chance you got…right?

@RF whatever makes you feel better. Maybe you guys could have played a little bit more hockey. It’s not like New York State or Mass. are short on people.
Your theory also doesn’t explain the relative success of the Red Wings given lil Detroit was in Toronto’s shadow…
I think George had it right. Who is responsible for the farm system?
Bad owners, bad GMs.

Hey Matt,
I thought you had rules that if poster posted rasist or obscene comments they would be banned. You should take a look at Shawn’s comment. He should be banned or you are the Colin Campbell of Internet Blogs.

Glad to see Max is OK, and glad to see JPT is OK too. RD I think the reasons for some bad years or too few cups could be broken up into categories: Not spending enough with no cap (ownership), bad management that was given a pass for decades, unexplainable cap era personell decisions, and lastly not having a goalie who put out a season/playoffs like Thomas did this year.

Pacioretty is a baby! 2 months earlier he hit Mark Eaton from behind face first into the boards after taking 3-4 strides, Eaton was not seriously hurt.. Pacioretty wants to play hard and drill guys from behind, then suck it up when it goes around.. Also if the Habs wanted to do anything about it, they had multiple opportunities.. The Bruins did something about it, Chara apologized then went out and won the Cup.. Now its almost July and Hab players, media and fans are still throwing silly little jabs at the Stanley Cup winning Bruins.. Pathetic!! Come October the Bruins will be ready, will the Habs have any answers? Not likely..

I don’t think this is really a story. Regardless of the act, Chara ended Patches season. Is it really that big of a deal that he is still pissed?

The only thing this managed to do is bring the Montreal homers back out of the woodwork. Good to see you back around, JPT. You too, Bernard Gilbert. I look forward to your insightful comments inspired by your Chara-haunted dreams.

Chara should be behind bars. Premeditated, marinated for over a month scheme to seek revenge over a brotherly tap in the back.

The investigation is ongoing and if the general attorney drops it, it can be picked up by anyone who is willing to pay a lawyer, or be held by a junior for the media attention it’s going to get him. I can see that happening easy. This story is not over. Whatever happens Chara will be remembered as a clumsy D that replied to a friendly little push (please don’t call that a shove RD) by attemting to seriously debilitating someone. He is a criminal.

Bergeron got hurt cuz he tried to do too much on a dump in. He had to care about Jones coming on him with the same speed he had. Him trying to make a play was a foolish thing to do. His reaction at Jones in the aftermath was a farce led by Harry the sinner himself.

Pax does not have to fight him. He can sway his stick deep down eye globe though.

RD – don’t give me that crap about “how come this is is only your 7th cup” – Answer: Prior to the 1960s, there was no NHL amateur draft. The recruitment of prospects was simply a matter of first come, first served. The Montreal Canadiens ensured they were first served by establishing perhaps the greatest farm system in sports history, with junior and senior teams on the prairies, minor pro teams in the U.S. and entire leagues in Quebec. The Leafs operated a similar network in Ontario and beyond. All players signed to those teams remained the exclusive propoerty of the NHL “sponsor” team until they were released or traded.
Prior to 1967, the Leafs and Canadiens held a further advantage. According to A Thinking Man’s Guide to Pro Hockey, by Gerry Eskenazi, published in 1973, each NHL franchise had exclusive rights to players within its 50-mile territorial limits. So the Leafs and Canadiens could browse the neighbourhood rinks near Toronto and Montreal at their leisure, while the Rangers had a lock on the next great goalie from Hoboken.

Most of these advantages disappeared in 1963 with the introduction of the amateur draft. But the Leafs and Canadiens continued to benefit from players developed under the old system well into the 1970s.

What a dork. Get over it man. You don’t get revenge making whiny comments to the media. Go train for next season and try to make an impact on the ice! No one is going to give you any respect or root for you when you make cry baby remarks to the press. IMO these interviews just make him seem soft and gutless.

I don’t give a rat’s ass about Patch being pissed at Chara. The Habs are a bunch of whiny pansies that don’t stick up for each other. Last time I checked, Hockey is a rough sport and Chara doesn’t need to pump Pacioretty’s tires…

Honestly-not sure what Bergeron or Savard thinks, but Boston fans certainly hold a grudge against Jones and Cooke (I think far more fans of other teams have other reasons to hold a grudge against Cooke as well). I imagine Savard doesn’t hold much of a grudge against Hunwick-anyone would know that was a routine hit that just got Savard the wrong way. Seids and Bergeron seem to get along fine as teammates so no grudges there.

I think the Rome hit on Horton was pretty clearly a head shot. If Chara’s hit on Pacioretty had happened on any other spot on the ice, it would have likely not even been called for interference, but no injury would have occurred. It was a pretty routine rub out-and one that drives many a player into the stanchion without injury.

That said-I can see why Pacioretty would hold a grudge-especially at this time and given the absolute rivalry between the two teams and the Montreal media. Even if he didn’t hold a grudge I could see why he would turn the TV off for the presentation.

RD for most of the Bruins’ franchise history the NHL was the Habs, Leafs, and Red Wings’ league. The Bruins Rangers and Blackhawks were basically just there to play losers. More recently the Bruins have either run into great teams (1988) or had some fluky mishap (too many men…) derail their chances.

John – Hickey is definitely a bitter old man but he’s a legit reporter and has been on the beat forever.

Arthor, thanks for the well reasoned response. You make me look like a lunatic.

Jean – Phiippe, I think you make an excellent point. It’s a brutal hit. How can someone expect him to react differently?

Last I recall, Bruins and Bruins fans were ready to rip Pacioretty’s head off because he shoved Chara after scoring an OT winner. Here’s Pacioretty with a legitimate grievance and people suddenly want these 2 to be pals.
It’s not just about the hit either. If you are dedicated to your team, you hate to see the other guy lift up the cup. Sure, everyone can agree that Tim Thomas deserves that cup. Does it mean that people who bleed bleu blanc rouge will celebrate the win? Nope.

One other thing? How is this only your 7th cup? How old is the Bruins franchise? You’ve had competitive teams my entire life…

Not news, of course he’s upset. I still don’t think the hit was suspendable, Max tried to make a hustle play and jump past Chara at the stanchion which was a dangerous risk he took. Still, it’s not like I don’t see the argument of Habs fans or Max, if only because the result was so brutal. Dave if you want to talk about Habs players it’s spelled Canadien (not Canadian)

I wonder if Horton would have been waving his fruity little pompoms as Rome skated around the ice with the cup if Vancouver had won.
Do you really think Savard wants to buy Cooke a coffee when he sees him. Do you really think Bergeron has Jones on his speed dial and sends him a Christmas card each year. Give your heads a shake Goons fans. Everyone in hockey knows that if Colin Campbell wasn’t in charge of discipline the Bruins would have went no where. Your win is tainted no matter what you guys think.

Matt, I don’t agree with you on this one. Slamming someone’s head into something still qualifies as a headshot. I don’t think we need to split hairs on this. His glove went to his helmet, his head hit the stanchion. To not call that a headshot is not honest in my opinion. Ban me for having this opinion if you like.

As for Chara’s apology, there’s a hell of a difference between actually being sorry for something YOU did and “expressing regret” because something happened.

If Pacioretty is still pissed at Chara, I’m more than willing to guess that Chara’s apology was more along the lines of “sorry you’re hurt” instead of “sorry for what I did”.

Pacioretty, along with a lot of people outside of the 617 (not all obviously), think Chara was deliberately rubbing Pacioretty into the stanchion. Nobody can prove it for a fact, and nobody can prove otherwise. It’s a stalemate. If he wants to be angry at Chara, I say fine. But to sit and whine that he hasn’t forgiven Chara is childish. Pacioretty is the victim in this. It was he who suffered a serious injury. So stop playing Chara, the 6’9 stanley cup champion, out to be some sort of victim in this.

Unfortunately, whether or not Pacioretty thinks he can play like he used to is not up to him. He may have permanent damage like Bergeron and Savard. Savard’s career is basically over and Bergeron is one Chara hit away from the cemetery. Once you suffer a severe knockout, it’s generally much easier for it to happen again. Maybe Pacioretty will be lucky in this respect but Bruins fans don’t have to look far to find an example of the lasting effects severe concussions have.

MCK, wear what ever gear you want. Your team beat all the other teams and earned the Stanley Cup.

Are you kidding me? Typical Canadian(as in player not nationality)…They wanted to get tough with Boston and got their arse’s handed to them. Next time don’t be so quick to talk tough. It was a legit hit that happens very often in hockey when a player forgets where he is on the ice. GO BRUINS!

Typical Montreal Canadian poor sport. Can’t stand the fact the Bruins won the CUP!! Hey Montreal keep dreaming about the good ole days when you use to win. Those days are light years away. You won’t be winning anything anytime soon!!!